Scotley
Hero
Ahh, that's what this is! Excellent!
*reads the intro post*
Interesting! I like it! A few questions:
1) Firearms?
2) The role of magic. Is it considered good? Bad? A gift of the gods, or the tool of the devils? Or is it like fire and lightning...a force of nature that can be used for good or ill, but is in itself neither?
3) Religion! Traditional polytheism? Eberronic divine lassaiz-faire? Historical exclusive monotheist monopoly?
4) Social constraints! Is it the politically correct world devoid of sexism, racism and other 'isms'? (Unless you're an orc, or kobold or whatever) Or are there societal expectations placed on people based on their gender, social standing, race, and so on?
Excellent questions.
I've been pondering firearms for a while now. Can you be a musketeer without a musket? I leave it to the players to come to a consensus. If you choose to have firearms available I expect to keep it simple and based on the crossbow as a model.
Magic--in the kingdom (name coming soon) you are in the average folk are inclined to see it as a force of nature, it can be used for good or ill and they are frightened of it. Certainly there are factions who take the divine and infernal view as well.
Religion--Polytheism--4e default gods, but Erathis Goddess of city and civilization holds considerable sway just now in the kingdom (drat still no name) as Archmandress Leontine religious leader of Erathis has the ear of the king and is perhaps the most powerful person in the city. The relative power of the deities' earthly organizations varies from kingdom to kingdom.
Social Constrains are more modern than 16th century France, but some chauvinism persists and their is a definite class structure with nobility and lesser men. The presence of magic tends to make it hard to repress a particular group when some members of that group are born sorcerers/sorceresses. The Kingdom (crap I gotta come up with a name!) is fairly cosmopolitan, but other areas around could be quite repressive as you choose to fit your backstory. I'm picturing humans and close relatives like elves and dwarves to be dominant here, but in other areas 'humanoid' races dominate. One important NPC member of the Hounds of the Horn (your order) is an old minotaur.